盡管過程充滿波折,人類對太空的探索從未失去希望。40年前,阿波羅11號的成功發(fā)射讓人類首次踏足一個全新的未知世界。在即將迎來阿波羅11號飛船載人登月40周年之際,太空探索再次成為人們的討論熱點,而關(guān)于“阿波羅載人登月純屬騙局”的陰謀論更是甚囂塵上。本期“探索區(qū)”將帶大家重返阿波羅11號的發(fā)射現(xiàn)場,重溫整個任務過程,并簡單介紹“登月陰謀論”的一些觀點。
“Four, three, two, one and lift-off.”
The flight of Apollo 11 was the culmination[巔峰] of many years of planning, working, building and testing. Thousands of people had contributed toward this day of accomplishment.
The great Saturn Ⅴ rocket and the complex Apollo
spacecraft had been assembled[裝配] together and moved to the launch pad[發(fā)射臺]. The equipment and techniques and personnel had been proved in earlier missions, and now they were ready. The astronauts chosen for this mission had flown it many times in ground-based simulators[模擬器]. They had all been in space before, they had trained carefully and well, and now they too were ready.
Astronaut Michael Collins would pilot the Apollo command module[(航天器上各個獨立的)艙]; astronaut Edwin Aldrin Jr. would pilot the lunar module, and astronaut Neil Armstrong would serve as mission commander. Armstrong would be the first man to step upon the moon. Other astronauts had made this journey to the launch pad, but never with such anticipation.
9:32 AM, July 16th.
Three hours later, the Apollo command module moves forward to extract[拔出] the lunar module from the third stage of the launch vehicle. Both are moving at more than 17,000 miles an hour. Docked[使(兩艘太空船)空間對接] together, they will sail a quarter million miles across the sea of space and into orbit around the earth’s nearest neighbour.
July 19th. Apollo 11 slows down and goes into orbit around the moon. The bright blue planet of earth now lies 238,000 miles beyond the lunar horizon. Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, now in the lunar module, separate from the command module.
Astronaut Collins remains behind. The Eagle注1 is poised[作……姿勢] and prepared for its descent[降落] to the lunar surface.
Aldrin:Twenty feet, down two and a half…kicking up some dust…four forward…four forward, drifting to the right a little…contact light…okay, engine stopped.
Mission Control: We copy[接收(無線電)信號] you down, Eagle.
Armstrong: Tranquility Base注2 here. The Eagle has landed.
Mission Control: Roger[(尤用于無線電通訊)知道了], Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.
Armstrong opens the Eagle hatch[艙口] and begins his climb down to the surface.
Armstrong: I’m gonna step off the LM注3 now. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Despite the bulky[體積大的] spacesuits and the backpacks containing oxygen, temperature control and communications equipment, the Apollo 11 crew found they could move easily about the surface. Through a specially made television camera, viewers in many
nations on earth were able to watch the astronauts as they walked and worked on the moon.
After two hours and 31 minutes, the first lunar explorers had completed their research on the moon. A night of rest in the lunar module, countdown
preparations, and they were ready to come home.
July 21st. The Eagle and its two man crew lifted off the moon perfectly, and climbed slowly to rendezvous[會合點] and dock with the mother ship, Columbia.
While Armstrong and Aldrin explored the moon,
Astronaut Collins had kept a long and lonely vigil[守夜] in the Columbia. The approaching Eagle was a welcome sight.
Dawn in the Pacific. Apollo blazes[燃燒] across the heavens, coming back to earth at 25,000 miles an hour.
President Richard Nixon, who had talked with the astronauts by telephone while they were on the moon, was waiting aboard the recovery carrier to welcome the returning voyagers.
The President later expressed the nation’s response to this historic mission.
Nixon:Someway, when those two Americans stepped on the moon, the people of this world were brought closer
together.
To protect against any possible lunar contamination[污染], the astronauts put on airtight[密封的] special garments[外衣] before coming aboard the rescue ship.
They transferred directly from the helicopter to a mobile quarantine[檢疫,隔離] van, in which they would be flown back to the Manned Spacecraft Centre in Houston, Texas.
July 27th. The journey was ended. They were home again. Ahead lay three weeks of isolation, medical tests and mission debriefings[任務報告], then visits to major cities of America and abroad.
The details of their unique mission would be relived and remembered, so that others might learn what they had learned, and that future travellers in space might build upon their experience.
Wherever man journeys tomorrow across the ocean of our universe, history will remind him that Apollo 11 was mankind’s first encounter[遇到] with a new world.
“四,三,二,一,升空?!?/p>
阿波羅11號登月飛行是經(jīng)過多年計劃、工作、建造和測試的頂峰。數(shù)千人曾為這一天的成就做出貢獻。巨大的土星5號運載火箭和復雜的阿波羅太空船已經(jīng)組裝完畢并移至發(fā)射臺。設備、技術(shù)以及人員的素質(zhì)均已在早前的任務中得到證明,現(xiàn)在都準備好了。入選這次任務的宇航員已經(jīng)在地面模擬艙內(nèi)進行過多次飛行。他們以前都上過太空,接受過嚴格而良好的訓練,現(xiàn)在他們也準備就緒。
宇航員邁克爾·柯林斯駕駛阿波羅號指令艙,小埃德溫·奧爾德林駕駛登月艙,而尼爾·阿姆斯特朗則擔任指令長。屆時,阿姆斯特朗將成為第一個踏上月球的人。其他宇航員也曾經(jīng)踏上通往發(fā)射臺的道路,但從未如此備受關(guān)注。
(1969年)7月16日,上午9時32分。
三個小時后,阿波羅指令艙向前推進,從第三級運載火箭中分離出登月艙。兩者都以超過17000英里(27359千米)的時速飛行。它們完成對接,在浩瀚的太空飛行25萬英里(402336千米),然后進入地球最近鄰居的軌道。
7月19日,阿波羅11號減速,進入繞行月球的軌道。地球這顆亮藍色的星球此刻正在距離月球地平線238000英里(383024千米)之外的地方。在登月艙內(nèi)的宇航員——阿姆斯特朗和奧爾德林與指令艙分離。
宇航員柯林斯則留守后方。鷹號登月艙已經(jīng)就位,準備在月球表面降落。
奧爾德林:(距離表面)20英尺(約6米),向下2.5……攪起了一點塵土……向前4英尺(約1米)……向前4英尺,向右邊飄移了一點……聯(lián)系燈……好,引擎熄火。
指揮中心:我們收到信號了,鷹號。
阿姆斯特朗:這里是靜?;兀椞栆呀?jīng)著陸。
指揮中心:收到,靜海。我們在地面上收到你的信號了。你剛才把一群人嚇得臉都紫了,現(xiàn)在我們終于能回過神來了,非常感謝。
阿姆斯特朗打開鷹號的艙門,開始向下爬到月球表面。
阿姆斯特朗:我現(xiàn)在要從登月艙走下來了。這是個人的一小步,卻是人類的一大步。
盡管穿著龐大的太空服,背著裝有氧氣、溫度調(diào)節(jié)和通訊設備的背包,阿波羅11號的宇航員發(fā)現(xiàn)他們能夠在月球表面輕松移動。通過一臺特制的電視攝像機,地球上許多國家的觀眾能夠看到這些宇航員在月球上行走和工作的情形。
經(jīng)過2小時31分鐘,第一批月球探險者完成了對月球的研究。他們在登月艙休息了一個晚上,進行倒數(shù)準備,馬上就要回家了。
7月21日,鷹號載著兩名宇航員從月球表面順利升空,然后慢慢爬升至會合點,與母船哥倫比亞號對接。
阿姆斯特朗和奧爾德林勘探月球的時候,宇航員柯林斯在哥倫比亞號上度過了漫長而孤獨的一夜。能看著鷹號逐漸靠近真是太讓人高興了。
太平洋上的黎明。阿波羅號的火光劃破長空,以25000英里(40233千米)的時速回歸地球。
宇航員們在月球上時,美國總統(tǒng)理查得·尼克松與他們通過電話?,F(xiàn)在,總統(tǒng)正在回收艦上歡迎宇航員們歸來。
隨后,總統(tǒng)表達了美國對這次歷史性任務的回應。
尼克松:當這兩位美國人踏上月球之時,這個世界的人們以某種方式被拉得更近了。
為了防止可能發(fā)生的月球污染,在登上救援船之前,宇航員們先穿上了特制的密封服。
他們被直接從直升機轉(zhuǎn)移到一輛移動隔離車內(nèi),飛機其后將隔離車運回位于德克薩斯州休斯敦的載人太空船中心。
7月27日,旅程結(jié)束。宇航員們重新回到了家園。他們要接受三個星期的隔離、醫(yī)學測試和任務匯報,然后到國內(nèi)外各大城市進行訪問。
這次獨特任務的細節(jié)將會被人們不斷地重溫和銘記,好讓其他人可以學習到他們所學到的東西,讓將來的太空探險者能夠吸取他們的經(jīng)驗。
無論未來人類將穿越浩瀚的宇宙去往何方,歷史都將讓我們銘記,是阿波羅11號讓人類首次遇見了一個新世界。
注1:“鷹號”是阿波羅11號登月艙的呼號。
注2:靜海是月球上的一處月海,位于寧靜盆地之內(nèi)。
注3:LM指阿波羅登月艙(Apollo Lunar Module),是阿波羅宇宙飛船直接登月的部分。
相關(guān)鏈接
阿波羅計劃——20世紀最大騙局?
阿波羅11號飛船的升空實現(xiàn)了人類首次登月。然而,一直有科學家和科普愛好者對美國登月資料提出質(zhì)疑,認為人類從未登陸月球,那些照片和影像是在地球上拍攝的“登月騙局”。2001年,美國??怂闺娨暸_甚至制作了一個一小時的特別節(jié)目《陰謀論:我們登上月球了嗎?》(Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?)那么,人類究竟有沒有登陸過月球?一起看看雙方爭論的焦點。
疑點1:國旗無風卻飄揚 月球上沒有空氣,不可能有風,但資料中宇航員在月球插下的美國國旗卻迎風
飄揚。
支持者反駁:國旗旗桿有兩個,豎的一個,橫的一個,呈“7”形,便于展開旗幟。當宇航員插旗時,由于月球地質(zhì)較硬,要用力扭動才能把旗插上,這個扭動動作加上旗桿本身彈性引起的震動,造成國旗的擺動。在真空環(huán)境中,沒有空氣的緩沖,國旗反而可以擺動多時而不停。
疑點2:登月照片中看不到星星 月球沒有大氣層,因而也就沒有空氣折射的問題,應該能清晰看到月空中群星閃耀的圖景,可是登月照片上卻看不到一顆星星。
支持者反駁:由于沒有大氣層,月球上的太陽光很強烈。為了成功拍攝照片,不會過度曝光,攝影機的快門速度必須很快,曝光時間短,因而收集不了宇宙遠處的星光。
疑點3:太空行走跳躍和地球一樣 月球上重力是地球的六分之一,宇航員應該輕易地比地球上跳得高六倍,遠六倍。
支持者反駁:理論上來說是沒有錯,但宇航員穿的宇航服又重又復雜,大約有100公斤重,在月球上相當于穿著16公斤重的衣服行走,而且宇航服是根據(jù)失重狀態(tài)設計的,十分笨重,不可能像理論上那樣輕松。
疑點4:登月艙沒在月面撞擊出坑洞 如果阿波羅登月艙飛船真的停落在月球表面,巨大的沖擊力應該使登月艙落地時撞擊出一個大坑洞,而登月照片中的登月艙好像是被輕輕地放在地面上。
支持者反駁:登月艙在著陸過程中會啟動底部的發(fā)動機,在接近月球表面時就開始減速,快著陸時發(fā)動機甚至停轉(zhuǎn),所以降落時不會產(chǎn)生太大沖擊力。如果沖擊力過大,登月艙和宇航員也受不了。此外,登月艙和月球表面的接觸面積較大,所以不會形成大坑。
以上幾點僅是人們爭論的一小部分。聽過正反雙方的意見后,你對阿波羅登月計劃的真實性是否產(chǎn)生懷疑?有興趣的同學不妨上網(wǎng)或到圖書館查查資料,認真思考,再和朋友論證一下吧。